Family
by imdoingthiswhy
Summary: Post 6x07 Castle and Beckett begin to see a little progress with Alexis, and Castle makes a little effort to meet her halfway.


**Family**

Kate looked up from her work as she realized someone was entering her area. She was expecting Castle, but it was Alexis instead.

"Alexis," she said, looking up in surprise. She stood and walked around her desk toward her fiancé's daughter and sat with one hip on the corner of the desk to talk to her. "I hear congratulations are in order. Your dad said you fought like a mama bear to turn things around for Frank."

"It wasn't just me. It wouldn't have happened without Dad…and you and everybody here. I wanted to thank you for all your help."

"You know I'm going to be here when you need me, don't you? You can always come to me if you need me."

"I know."

"Castle said he'd tell me everything when he got back, so I don't know the last of the story, except that Frank is a free man. Tell me what happened."

Alexis excitedly rattled off all the things she was sure Kate didn't already know, adding a few personal thoughts as well, and ending with, "So he and Maggie finally get to have their life together. She was amazing. She had stuck with him all those years, and they looked so happy."

"And your determination was what kept things moving. That was impressive. Is it okay if I say I'm proud of you?"

Alexis nodded and smiled.

"On the way home, Dad told me he was proud of me. He said I reminded him of you…the way I went after the evidence. I know he meant it as a compliment."

Kate looked down to collect herself, thinking Alexis hadn't liked being compared to her. She was about to despair at ever having the girl's approval when she heard Alexis say, "That's definitely the way I took it."

A smile of relief lit the detective's face, and Alexis smiled back. "Thank you, Alexis."

"I need to apologize for how I've behaved lately, too. I was angry with Dad, and you ended up in the middle of it." She looked ashamed of herself, as if she had finally seen herself the way everyone around her had seen her lately.

"Don't worry about it on my account. Your Dad and I are going to be married sometime soon, and the three of us have to figure out how we work as a family. It isn't an always an easy thing to do. I promise you, if my dad were to tell me he's getting married, I'd have a hard time with it even now.

"No matter how it looked, I'm glad you and Dad are getting married. I know you love him, warts and all."

"Well, he's getting a few warts in the bargain, too, but at least we've had over five years to get used to them."

Both women smiled, Alexis held out her arms, and Kate breathed easier, standing to engulf her soon-to-be stepdaughter in a heartfelt hug."

When they separated, Alexis said, "It feels good that Dad is proud of me again." She paused a moment and added, "And it feels good that you're proud of me."

"Pi is going to be proud of you, too." That earned another smile from Alexis. "Let me put these things away, and I'll walk out with you," Kate said as she put the files in her desk drawer. "Where's your dad?"

Alexis pointed toward the doorway where he was standing.

Kate put one arm around Alexis' shoulders, and they walked over to meet Castle.

xxxxx

His daughter had finally realized she still needed him, enough to melt into his arms when she was distraught and apologize for being angry with him. He was so relieved to hold his little girl again that he let everything else go and told her it was okay…that he deserved it. He knew he did deserve some of her anger after his performance as the well less than perfect dinner guest at her new apartment. Maybe one day before long they could sit down for a chat about the reasons he felt she deserved _his_ anger about the whole Pi situation…but not today. Today she hugged him again, and he wasn't going to jeopardize the unspoken truce they had in place at the moment.

He watched after he and Alexis arrived on the homicide floor at the precinct and saw Kate at her desk. After a couple of minutes of observing them talking, he paced for a bit in the hall and came back to lean in the doorway and watch a little longer to see how things were going. Alexis said she wanted to thank Kate for helping them with Frank's case, but she had been there too long for that to be the only thing she said. He could hear nothing beyond the low hum of voices from where he was, and he had no intention of intruding; but Castle was relieved to see that it still looked like a friendly exchange. Then Alexis held out her arms to Kate, and Kate was immediately and happily on her feet to pull his daughter into her arms. He thought his heart might explode with love for both of them…and relief that it was Alexis who had made the first move.

He stood there, literally and figuratively on the outside looking in, but in this case, it was a warm, joyful feeling.

xxxxx

Alexis walked with Kate to the doorway where Castle waited, then she stood slightly aside while Kate put her arms around Castle in a loving embrace and softly said, "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," he answered, pulling her in for a kiss that was loving, but wholly appropriate in front of his daughter and any of the night shift who might be watching.

Alexis looked down, both to give them a little privacy for what, despite its self-control, was an intimate moment…and in shame that she had said what she did to her father about Kate. They were obviously meant to be together; she had known that for a long time.

Castle reached out and pulled his daughter into the hug, saying, "I love both of you so much."

"Why don't we get everybody home? The two of you must be wiped out by now," Kate answered, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Ready, Alexis?"

Castle walked them to the elevator with an arm possessively around each of them, and they left the precinct in his car. There was an awkward moment before they all got in when the two women, each still looking for the correct thing to do, tried to decide where to sit.

Making an effort to redeem herself, Alexis said, "Sit with dad, Kate. I'll be getting out at my apartment," and she had opened the back door to get in before Kate had time to formulate an answer.

As they drove, Alexis again made the first move and started the conversation. "Dad, I apologized to Kate for putting her in the middle of everything…and I know she's the right one for you. I'm sorry I said anything that sounded otherwise."

"It hurt to hear it after I thought you were okay with us this past year. And the way you were behaving…it hurt Kate, too."

"Are we okay now, Kate?" Alexis asked.

"We're fine, Honey," Kate answered, looking back toward her future stepchild. "The worst part for me was watching the man I love hurting so much and not feeling like I could do anything about it."

"That's why I was so angry with Dad. He was so rude to Pi…and so judgmental of both of us."

"Why don't we let the air clear a little more and ease into that conversation later?" Kate suggested. "I have the feeling we're all too tired for it to go well right now. For now, let's settle for the more open minds…it's a good start.

"You're probably right," Alexis answered, knowing she didn't want to take a chance on ruining the progress they had made. "Would you like to see our apartment when we get there, Kate?"

"I'd love to see your apartment, but are you sure Pi is going to want company this late?" Kate asked.

"I called when Dad and I stopped for snacks on the way home and told him I might bring you. He was excited about it."

"Castle?"

"Sure. We'll stop for a few minutes if you want to."

"I want to."

Castle looked resigned and nodded.

When they arrived at the apartment, Pi was waiting at the door; and Alexis hugged him around the waist. He hugged her back and said excitedly, "You saved somebody's life today, Al. That's awesome! You, too, Mr. C. You make a good team."

Alexis could practically see Castle biting his tongue, which simultaneously made her angry and proud. She took a breath to compose herself and said quietly to her father, "If I leave you alone with Pi, can you try not to be insulting or condescending?" He nodded, so she turned to Kate and said excitedly, "Come on. Let me show you what we've done."

"I like what I see so far," Kate answered, smiling softly as she looked around.

Alexis gave Kate the grand tour; and Kate behaved like Martha, allowing her to be enthusiastic about her first home in her quest for independence. Kate asked leading questions that allowed Alexis to offer the stories behind some of their decor.

"Your grandmother told me about the sofa. When I was your age, some of my friends had couches like the one in the living room," Kate said hesitantly. "Why don't you let your dad give you the one he offered…even though, from what Martha told me, he offered it less than graciously. It would be more comfortable…and sturdier. If the color isn't what you want, you can put a slip cover on it. The slip cover could be my housewarming gift. If I can get Castle to be more polite about it, would you and Pi agree to take it? It would make room in the storage space for some of my stuff when I move in."

"That couch _is_ pretty bad," Alexis admitted.

"And you'd be helping me out," Kate bargained.

"Okay. I'll talk to Pi…and Dad…Dad later."

"Good." She paused for a moment and seemed to be listening. "You think we'd better go back and check on your father and Pi? It's awfully calm in there. I don't know whether to worry or not."

"Yeah, probably," Alexis answered with a smile that looked more like the pre-Costa Rica Alexis.

xxxxx

While Alexis showed Kate around the small apartment, Castle made a Herculean effort to be polite and talk to Pi.

"Pi, I should apologize for my behavior when you and Alexis invited us to dinner. I won't insult anyone's intelligence by trying to convince you I'm not disturbed about this, but I do owe you the courtesy of respect in your own home."

"I can't make you want me to be with Alexis, Mr. C.; I understand that. But I can promise you that I'll be good to her. I want her to be happy, and she seems happy to me."

"Well, that's a start. We both want her to be happy. You have to understand...she's my daughter. I've loved her since the day she entered the world and I counted her tiny little fingers and toes, and most of her life it was just the two of us. The loft has always been her home…with me taking care of her, and the two of you unceremoniously took that away…not even a warning before the day you packed up and left. I wouldn't have known she was leaving that day if I hadn't come home early and caught her coming down the stairs with the last of her things. No good-bye, no parting hug, no indication of even wanting to be around me anymore. Being a part of that isn't the best way to impress a girl's father. I admit to still being angry."

Pi shook his head. "I told her we should wait for you, but she was determined to do it her way. She was really angry for some reason."

"Yeah...my daughter's determined streak. Something else we can agree on." Castle seemed to be grasping for civil conversation straws, running his fingers through his hair and looking uncomfortable, then he finally asked, "How's the job going?"

"Pretty well. It's discouraging, though. Too many places where hives are dying out. Did you know there are places in China where people have to hand pollinate some of the fruit orchards? The wild bees have died out. They're important."

"No, I hadn't heard that," Castle answered, appearing to perk up at the introduction of new trivia for his inquisitive mind. I'll have to research that. So what you're doing is tracking where the bee population is normal or not?"

"Right," Pi answered as he nodded with his typical enthusiasm. "It's pretty cool. You get to meet all kinds of people, too…young ones starting farms, old folks who have been keeping bees forever, people with just a couple of hives in the back yard... There was this little old lady I met last week. She's almost a hundred years old and still working her hives and selling honey to a farmer's market. She needs some help now, but she still does a lot of it herself. I helped her with some stuff while I was there…fixed the wooden step on her porch and got some things down for her…she can't reach them anymore…changed a couple of light bulbs. We talked a while, and I couldn't believe how far back she could remember. She was actually alive when all those things happened."

Castle was smiling…only a little, but smiling. "Sounds like a good day at work," he said less judgmentally.

"It was." Seeing Alexis and Kate coming back from the bedroom, Pi said, "Hey, Al, I was just telling your dad about the little old lady with the bees."

"We might go and see her one weekend so I can meet her, too," Alexis told her father and Kate, amazed that her dad was actually smiling…at Pi.

"I'll tell you the story on the way home," Castle promised Kate. "We should be going. Everybody is tired."

"I like your place," Kate told Alexis and looked over to Pi to include him. "Looks like the two of you must have enjoyed fixing it up."

"We did," Pi answered, looking pleased.

"Thanks for stopping in…and being excited with me," Alexis said to Kate.

"I enjoyed it. Maybe you can help me get excited about a wedding?"

"You'd let me help?"

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't."

Alexis hugged Kate again before they left, and while she was that close to Alexis' ear, Kate whispered, "Talk to Pi about the sofa."

"I will," Alexis whispered back, then she went to hug Castle.

He held her close, kissed the top of her head, and reluctantly let her go; and then he held his hand out to Pi before the fruitarian could latch onto him for a hug. Castle had voluntarily smiled at him, and it was clear to all of them that the smile and a handshake was all Pi was getting tonight; so Pi shook Castle's hand, and he and Alexis walked the older couple to the door.

They stood in the doorway as Kate and Castle left, and Alexis was near tears. Her dad was civil, even smiled a little bit, and Kate wasn't angry with her…made her feel good about the apartment. She felt terrible about the way she had handled almost everything since she got home from her trip, but it looked like things would eventually get better.

"Night, Dad."

Both Castle and Kate turned, and each held a hand up in a brief wave before they entered the stairwell.

xxxxx

On the ride back to the loft, Kate asked, "So what was it that made you smile…at Pi?"

Castle unexpectedly smiled again at the thought. "He was so enthusiastic about his work, and he talked about how much he enjoyed meeting the beekeepers." He told her about the old woman with the bees. "I used to do things like that. When I was researching books, sometimes I'd wander around wherever I was and strike up conversations with people. When Alexis was old enough, she would be with me sometimes. If they were busy working on something, I'd offer to help…learned a little about a lot of things by seeing it up close for a little while, and it was good fodder for books. It's nice to have an odd little detail here and there. It brought back some good memories."

"So he took time to help her out?"

"Yeah."

"Does that help his cause a little bit…that he has a good heart?"

"It might…but I don't like him yet. Maybe I saw one good quality because I don't have to see him at the loft every day."

"He seems to care about Alexis…seems to make her happy. Isn't that good, too?"

"I thought you were on my side."

"I am on your side, but Alexis… Okay. I'm leaving it alone now." She slid her hand up his arm and around to the back of his neck, massaging the tight muscles. "I was proud of you tonight. Aside from still being a great dad and the _huge_ accomplishment of getting an innocent man out of prison, you behaved like a gentleman at their apartment; and I could see that Alexis appreciated it. I think she's seeing that she created a lot of the problem."

"What did the two of you talk about?"

"She thanked me for helping…apologized for sounding like she wasn't sure about me, made me feel more like I might fit into the family one day."

"You're already family."

"To you and your mother, but…"

"Do you know how many times Alexis has encouraged me to do something for you? Hasn't she asked your advice…wanted to show you things she was excited about…like her apartment, tell you about Frank's release?"

"I guess so."

"Isn't that what people do with best friends and family? She's already coming around. When I saw her reach out to hug you and saw you look eager to be part of it…I don't have words for how that felt."

Kate smiled and reminded him. "Pi is with Alexis. If that works for them, you might have to make an effort to accept him as family, too, you know…the way Alexis has to accept me."

Castle succumbed to a shiver of disgust. "Not until I absolutely have to. I don't know what happened to Alexis while she was gone," he grumbled. It's like she met Darth Vader in the rain forest and he pulled her over to the dark side. He's probably the one who introduced her to Pi."

"Well, it looks like you and your Jedi mind skills pulled her back to the light in the past couple of days, Luke. The force must have been with you."

"I love it when you talk geek," he answered with a grin, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere between them. The last two days had been non-stop stress, and being alone with Kate was just what he needed. Leaning into the neck massage, he sighed. "That feels so good. What else do I get when we get home?" he asked playfully.

"A long shower? I could help."

"Anything else?"

"I might wear those Wonder Woman Underoos you bought me. I haven't modeled those for you yet."

"Mmmmm. Nice. Will you spin around for me like the TV show and…" he was asking expectantly when she interrupted

Laughing at his teasing, she said, "We're almost home, Writer-man. We'll figure it all out when we get there." She carded her fingers up through the hair just above his neck and added gently," I love you."

He looked over at her and smiled, thinking about how far they had already come. They were working at being a family…all four of them. If he eventually had to admit that Pi would be included, he would figure out how; but he wasn't giving that any more thought tonight. Tonight was about Kate…and having her all to himself. The rest of the world wasn't going to intrude on his thoughts until morning.


End file.
